Home Business License. How To Get One!

Note: This information is also relevant to any craft business or any other work at home business.

It is illegal to start a home based business or any business without a business license. Getting a home based business license for your business is easy!

Getting Approval From Your Local Area Or Zone Office

Before you register for a home business license, you will need to call or visit your local area or zone office and find out whether you're allowed to set up a business in your home.

They will need to ask you some questions, such as, what is the nature of business you want to set up, whether you are hiring staff, any installation of heavy equipments, etc.

Usually, your area office will have a set of rules and regulation pertaining to setting up a home based business and for getting the business license.

Actually, starting a greeting cards business in your home shouldn't pose any danger or problem to your neighbours since there's no heavy equipments and it's not likely that you will be making a lot of noise that will disturb your neighbours.

Read what is permitted and what isn't and follow closely those rules. Some area might not allow you to put up a signboard but that is not a problem. If everything is okay, they will issue you a letter permitting you to use your home as a place for business. You might need to pay a small fee for this.

Register Your Business and Getting Your Home Business License

Having a letter from your local zone office allowing you to use your home as a business place, you are now ready to register your business and get a business license. Find out where you need to go to register it and have the home business license issued to you.

With the letter from your local zone office and your list of names, do a name search at the Registry of Businesses and see whether the name you like best is available. If it is, good! You should be able to register your work at home business under that name. But if not, go down your list of names and do another search.

When you fill the application forms, you will be asked whether it's a Sole Proprietorship or a Partnership business. Well, that should be under Sole Proprietorship if you are the sole owner of the business and Partnership if you are teaming up with your spouse, friend or a sibling.

You will also be asked about the nature of your business. Just write a description of what your home based business is about.

Example, sending greeting cards as a service for people, and teaching card making workshops.

Acually getting a home business license is very easy and fast. You just need to have all the informations ready and you'll be able to register your business and get your home business license within an hour if there's no queue.

Do visit the following links to get the relevant home business licence and informations. Some of these govenment agencies will have instructions on how to get your home business license too.

1. FirstGov.gov - FirstGov.gov is the U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state and local government web resources and services

2. Chamber of Commerce - Directory of Local Community Resources and Websites

3. IRS Small Business and Self Employed Website - Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource

(Do visit the IRS' starting a business page. You can learn alot here.)

4. National Association of Secretaries of States

5. United States Patent and Trademarks Office - go here to trademark your business name and logo

5. Official USA Site - Directory of United States Department Of Revenue Services

Quick Links:

Start A Greeting Card Business

Sell Cards From Home

Print Yor Business Cards